No independence referendum if SNP wins majority, Reeves says

"I'm going to be very clear, there won't be another referendum."

"When there was a referendum just a few years ago it was said that this was a once-in-a-generation referendum. People gave their verdict then, we don't need another one."

"This is a Labour government that is now one of the most unpopular that we have seen in history and they are telling the Scottish people that they can't decide their own future. That, I think, will drive Labour opinion polls even further down. It is an astonishing display of arrogance."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated that there will not be a second Scottish independence referendum even if the SNP secures a majority of seats at next year's Holyrood election. Reeves said the 2014 vote was described as a once-in-a-generation referendum and that the public gave their verdict then, removing the need for another. She urged the Scottish government to prioritise reducing NHS waiting lists, improving education and investing in infrastructure. Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison called Reeves's stance an astonishing display of arrogance and said Labour's position cannot hold if the SNP wins a majority. The SNP plans to claim a mandate for a referendum based on a majority of seats, replicating the approach used after the 2011 Holyrood election when temporary powers were transferred for the 2014 vote.

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